


Artifact of Blurred Reminiscence

by DarkMidniteMage



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Gen, dbf au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 13:09:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15886698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkMidniteMage/pseuds/DarkMidniteMage
Summary: There's a real reason behind why Neku wears the wristband on his left wrist all the time, and it's not just for fashion.





	Artifact of Blurred Reminiscence

“Joshua, what are you doing?”

 

Neku was eyeing Joshua warily, staring at him as if he were about to do something incredibly stupid (again).

 

You see, when someone invites ~~their killer~~ their weird friend over for a sleepover, a lot of weird things tend to follow. For example, right now the two were lounging in Neku’s bedroom to play ~~the Reaper’s Game~~ ~~Seven Days Left~~ 7 Billion Timers, but Joshua had set down the controller and was now staring intently at Neku’s left wrist.

 

“Why do you always have an armband on?”

 

Neku pressed the pause button, freezing Kimi mid-fall.

 

“Why are you asking this now?” Neku countered.

 

At that, Joshua hesitated. His eyes flicked to his left ankle, and Joshua shifted where he sat.

 

Neku was confused by this. Why was he acting like this over a question in response to a question?

 

Joshua exhaled softly, a small shake of his head accompanying it.

 

“...Never mind.”

 

Joshua picked up the controller for Shira again, and Neku gave him a short glance before he unpaused the game.

 

The gameplay just wasn’t the same after that. Not even the ~~Erasure~~ game over they got for Kimi being shot sparked any kind of conversation. Neku just wordlessly reloaded from their save file, and the two continued to play.

 

It wasn’t very long before Neku glanced to the digital clock on his nightstand, and three seconds later,  his mother poked her head into the room.

 

“Neku, you two need to head to bed. It’s almost midnight.”

 

Neu sighed, nodded, and turned to Joshua momentarily before pausing the game and saving it. Neku’s mother left the room, and Joshua set the game controller on top of the TV stand. Joshua looked to Neku once before he stood up.

 

“I’ll be right back. I need to use the bathroom.”

 

With that, Joshua slipped out into the hall. Neku shut down the game system, his mind elsewhere. Joshua had gone almost completely silent, and that was certainly abnormal for the talkative blonde. Had Neku said something to upset him? Had he hurt Joshua in some way or reminded him of something he wanted to forget? Neku sighed in frustration, setting his controller down haphazardly on the TV stand and flopping down against his mattress. He heard Joshua come in a moment later.

 

Joshua said nothing, just walked into the room quietly, lightly laid down on Neku’s bed, and curled into a ball. Neku glanced to him as he reached for the light switch. Flicking it off, the two were surrounded in darkness.

 

**~*~**

 

For as hard as Neku was trying to sleep, he just couldn’t.

 

Even with the light turned off and the soft breathing next to him, he bristled with unease and restlessness. Joshua was left undisturbed as Neku stood up and, as quietly as humanly possible, slipped out of the room and into the hall. Cautiously padding along the floorboards, Neku traced his path through the apartment. Seeing the soft glow of the night sky filtering through the doors, Neku reached forwards and gently tugged the handle. Sliding the door aside, he stepped through onto the balcony.

 

The usual harsh glare of the city lights couldn’t be seen from this side of his apartment. Neku leaned against the balcony wall, his gaze sweeping over the glowing stars above him. He looked for as many constellations as he could find, and he exhaled softly. Only a few minutes of this, and his thoughts had begun to wander.

 

What had upset Joshua earlier? Neku couldn’t recall having said or done something to offend him, and most of their conversation had been aimed towards the game they were playing. Joshua had only stopped when he caught sight of Neku’s wrist...band…

 

Oh no.

 

Had Joshua seen th-

 

“Can’t sleep?”

 

Neku felt something get draped over his shoulders. The light amount of weight and the soft texture told him that this was a blanket. Neku didn’t need to turn to know that Joshua had been the one to rest this blanket there before the blonde sat down beside him.

 

“I guess…”

 

Joshua looked to him, his message clear. The tired orangette nodded, and Joshua pulled Neku towards him. Fingers carefully traced through Neku’s hair, undoing the tangles.

 

Neku’s mind finally began to dispel his worries, the reminder that Joshua was here, that he seemed calm, pushing out the anxiety. Only one thought refused to leave, despite the warmth of Joshua near him.

 

**_“Why do you always have an armband on?”_ **

 

Neku exhaled softly.

 

He could trust Joshua.

 

Neku spoke quietly, but still loud enough for Joshua to hear him.

 

“Josh… Do you still want to know why I’m always wearing an armband…?”

 

Joshua’s hands paused in their path. There was a moment of hesitation before Joshua’s head was set onto Neku’s shoulder, gently burrowing into his neck.

 

“Please....” Joshua whispered.

 

Neku was concerned. Joshua never acted like this. It was too out of character for him.

 

Neku sighed. “Alright…. Just… Just promise you won’t laugh, okay?”

 

“Why would I have reason to laugh, Neku...?”

 

Neku was about to debate the logic of this statement, but he decided against it. Giving Joshua one last sidelong glance, Neku gulped and slipped the band from his wrist.

 

Joshua’s breathing hitched.

 

A jolt of energy.

 

Joshua pulled away rapidly, moving backwards.

 

Neku turned to him, but he wasn’t ready to.

 

“J-Josh, are you…”

 

The blonde turned away, wiping at his eyes. He didn’t turn back to face Neku amidst his useless attempts to stop crying. Neku made a small noise, gently pulling Joshua towards him as he sat up.

 

“What’s wrong…?”

 

Joshua only dug his head into Neku’s shoulder again.

 

Neku made a face, and, with the most careful motion possible, moved Joshua’s head up to face him. Joshua looked back at him, a tiny glistening droplet slipping down and carving a path along Joshua’s pale skin.

 

“Joshua, I wear this bracelet because I want to remember someone I’ve forgotten. I…” Neku took a deep breath, exhaling softly. “I don’t have a name, or a face, or even memories of what we did together. All I know and all I have is this bracelet that I know they gave me. I don’t want to forget them entirely, and-”

 

“A-all this t-time, you still h-had the bracelet… You… You k-kept it with you this e-entire time…”

 

Neku was confused.

 

“Joshua, what do you mean…?”

 

Joshua smiled sadly, his hand moving for his left pants leg. He rolled it up slightly to reveal a loosely braided multi-colored bracelet looped around his ankle.

 

A small seed of thought panged in Neku’s mind. An image, a hand, _his_ hands-

 

A spike of pain.

 

Worse than the Game Fees, worse than his migraines, worse than getting shot-

 

Neku pales as he remembers this pain and realizes what’s happening.

 

A sharp twist of the knife.

  


Neku’s out before he crashes against Joshua.

 

**~*~**

 

_“Nekuuuuu~!”_

_Neku turns quickly, wincing as he realizes that that was a bad idea because of the whiplash that it gave him. He hisses, massaging his neck and looking up at Joshua. The blonde looks down at Neku with sheepish smile, sitting down beside him._

 

_“Sorry!”_

 

_As the pain ebbs out, Neku notices that Joshua has a box in his hands._

 

_“What’s that?”_

 

_Joshua’s lips purse as he looks away, a look of embarrassment written across his face._

 

_“Iknowit’schildishandstuffbutIreallywantedtotryitpleasedon’tlaugh-”_

 

_Neku tried to decipher what Joshua said as he watched him lift the lid from the box. He looked down to see rainbow colored yarn and scissors sitting neatly inside of it, a bag of pony beads beside it._

 

_“Um…. What’s this for?” Neku asked._

 

_“Misagna... bracelets…”_

 

 _That’s all Joshua managed to get out before he quietly_ eep _ed and buried his face in his hands._

 

_“Misanga bracelets? Aren’t those the friendship bracelet things that the girls at school are wearing all the time?”_

 

_Joshua nodded quickly._

 

_“And you want to make them?”_

 

_Another quick nod._

 

_Neku turned his body to face Joshua completely, picking the box up from Joshua’s lap and setting it on the ground._

 

_“So…. how do we do this?” Neku smiled._

 

_Joshua’s head shot up, looking at Neku in bewilderment._

 

_“You actually want to make the bracelets?”_

 

_“Yeah.” Neku nodded, still smiling. “It sounds like it’ll be fun.”_

_Joshua reached into the box, picking up the yarn and the scissors. He searched for a loose end of the yarn ball, and when he found it, he held it out to Neku._

 

_“Can you hold this for a moment?”_

 

_Neku held onto it, watching as Joshua unrolled a large portion of the yarn ball. Picking up the scissors, Joshua cut it off and then tied the end. He looked to Neku, holding out his hand to Neku and gesturing for him to give him the other end. Neku did, and he tied that end too. Holding both ends in the same hand, Joshua held the looped end and began folding the pieces over each other. He turned to Neku._

 

_“Can you hold out your wrist?”_

 

_Neku complied, holding out his left wrist to Joshua. His friend wrapped the yarn around his wrist, making sure it was loose enough to be put on. He moved down the string slightly, then cut off the ends._

 

_Joshua picked up three out of the eight strands of yarn before he tied them all together in one large knot. He held out the remaining strands to Neku, who looked to them before choosing three strings. He followed Joshua’s actions, tying the ends together tightly. Neku glanced to what Joshua was doing, and he immediately halted. There were quick, tight movements of the yarn being braided together, and Joshua was already halfway through braiding the bracelet. Neku tried to mimic his actions, but he ended up with a loosely braided mess of color. Sighing, he went back over and slowed down, tightening the loops as much as he could. It still didn’t look as good as Joshua’s did, but it was… something, at least._

 

_Joshua met his eyes when they both seemed to have finished, but Neku still had no idea how to tie it. Joshua turned to Neku with a finished bracelet, looking pointedly to his wrist. Neku held it out, and Joshua slipped the bracelet onto it. Neku looked helplessly to his messily braided bracelet, and Joshua giggled lightly as he glanced to it._

 

_“H-hey, what are you laughing at?!” Neku said defensively._

 

_“It’s just that I was going to ask if you could leave it untied anyways, but it looks like I didn’t need to,” Joshua laughed lightly._

 

_Joshua held out his hand, and Neku dropped the untied bracelet into it. Joshua smiled at him before turning to his leg. He rolled up his left cuff, pulling it up slightly over his ankle._

 

_“What are you doing…?” Neku asked._

 

_“Tying it to my ankle. You know my parents probably won’t approve of it if they see it.”_

 

_Neku winced, nodding to Joshua as he watched his friend tie the bracelet around his left ankle. Neku supposed that would be called an anklet instead of a bracelet now, but he didn’t mind. Surprisingly, the bracelet fit perfectly around Joshua’s ankle. Joshua grinned back at Neku, and moments later, Neku was tackled in a hug. Neku couldn’t help but laugh._

 

**~*~**

 

When Neku opened his eyes, he was wrapped in a blanket and a pair of arms. Neku blinked to try and rid himself of the blurriness as he tried to remember what happened.

 

He couldn’t sleep, so he went to the balcony, and then Joshua came to join him… He showed Joshua the misanga bracelet, and…

 

Joshua.

 

Joshua gave the bracelet to him?

 

Neku suddenly recognized the breathing pattern and the light Music he heard to be Joshua’s. He looked up, seeing Joshua holding onto him tightly while still asleep. At Neku’s light movement, Joshua stirred. Groggily, the blonde looked down at Neku for a moment.

 

One beat. Two.

 

Joshua’s eyes snapped open fully and he sat up.

 

“Neku, are you okay?! What the hell happened?!”

 

Despite his better judgement, Neku couldn’t help but laugh a bit at his friend’s antics.

 

“I’m fine, Josh.”

 

Joshua looked at him, seemingly doubting Neku’s words. Neku frowned, but was unwilling to sit up to demonstrate.

 

“‘Trust your partner’, Josh. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten.”

 

Joshua sighed, giving Neku The Look™ before he spoke up. “I haven’t forgotten, dear. I’m just worried about you, Nek-”

 

“Reasonable to be worried about a childhood friend.”

 

Joshua stopped.

 

“...What?”

 

“You gave me this bracelet, didn’t you?” Neku held up his wrist in demonstration. “Multi-colored yarn, and I failed miserably at braiding.”

 

Joshua looked like he was on the verge of tears again.

 

“You…. you remember….?”

 

Neku didn’t understand why, but he could remember a lot of other things, too. Joshua’s parents were complete assholes to him. They met when Neku had hidden from his father. Joshua told him about the Underground back then. Neku… He could see the Underground then, too. Joshua disappeared without a trace almost four years ago now, exactly three years after he and Neku had met.

 

Neku hug attacked Josh.

 

“You ass… Why the hell did you disappear on me like that? I missed you...”

 

Neku felt a teardrop hit his cheek, and a small choked noise could be heard.

 

Joshua embraced him in return, and that’s where they sat on the balcony until sunrise.

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to RoyalTwilight (on DeviantArt) for reviewing this for me and coming up with a title. Yeesh, I should really stop typing without looking up from my notebook.


End file.
